Last night was the premiere of HBO’s highly anticipated Game of Thrones prequel, House of the Dragon, on HBO Max. As millions of people tuned in to watch the first episode, those using Fire TV devices, specifically, had the most issues. Social media is full of posts from people reporting that the HBO Max app crashes after the initial pre-roll ad plays and the most common device mentioned is a Fire TV Stick or Firestick. The issue wasn’t related to the large number of people trying to stream simultaneously, as you might expect, but rather, it seems to be related to how the app handles user profiles and/or subtitles. The solution to the issue for most people was to simply create a new user profile within the app and use the new profile instead. So, if you have issues watching the second episode this Sunday, or issues watching any content in the HBO Max app for that matter, on a Fire TV, Fire TV Cube, Fire TV Stick, or Fire TV Smart TV, try creating a new profile within HBO’s app and switching to that profile. Another solution that worked for many was to start playing something else, turn off subtitles, and then start playing the show that was having issues.

As promised last month, HBO Max has launched their cheaper ad-support subscription plan for $9.99 per month, which is a $5 discount compared to the regular $14.99 per month ad-free plan. Before you make the switch to save some money or sign up as a new subscriber, there are some important limitations to the add-supported plan that you should know about. Read more ›

HBO has announced that a less expensive ad-supported subscription option for HBO Max will be available starting the first week of June for $9.99 per month. That’s $5 less expensive than the $14.99 ad-free plan that is currently available. Notably, a subscription to HBO Max with ads will not include access to the day-and-date Warner Bros. movie premieres that were promised to be available on HBO Max throughout 2021. HBO says that the ad-supported plan will have the “lightest ad load in the industry” and that HBO original programming will not have any commercials, regardless of which plan you’re subscribed to. Read more ›